Carroll Pickett
Encyclopedia
Reverend Carroll L. "Bud" Pickett (born 1933, Nursery, Texas
) is a Presbyterian
minister in Huntsville, Texas
. In the 1960s and 1970s, Rev. Pickett served as pastor for three churches in Texas. In 1980 he began serving as a chaplain in the Huntsville, Texas, prison, where he spent most of the next 15 years working with prisoners facing imminent execution. Since retiring from the Texas Department of Corrections, Rev. Picket writes and speaks against the death penalty
. His 2002 book, Within These Walls: Memoirs of a Death House Chaplain, won several awards. The 2008 documentary At the Death House Door: No Man Should Die Alone
chronicles his prison ministry.
in 1954 and seminary in 1957. He married Sonja Campbell of Victoria and raised 4 children. After divorcing, he married his second wife Jane in 1990.
Early in his career, he served a Presbyterian church in Sinton
. From 1961 to 1967, he served as Associate Pastor for First Presbyterian Church in Victoria. From 1967 to 1980, he served as pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Texas.
During his tenure as a prison chaplain in the 1980s and 1990s, his views changed. In 1989 he sought psychiatric help to deal with work-related issues. He came to believe that one prisoner, Carlos De Luna, was wrongly executed. He could not reveal his changed attitudes without jeopardizing his job and he felt a calling to continue to minister to prisoners on the last day of their lives. On the day of his retirement in 1995, he announced that he was against the death penalty. In 2008, he called execution "Biblically wrong."
In a September 2008 interview, he mentions that his attitude change was a long process, and was in part due to the execution of several men who he now believes were innocent.
In all, Rev. Pickett "walked with 95 inmates the last 10 steps to the Death House Door" in his 15 years with the prison system.
Nursery, Texas
Nursery is an unincorporated community in Victoria County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Victoria, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area....
) is a Presbyterian
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
The Presbyterian Church , or PC, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. Part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S...
minister in Huntsville, Texas
Huntsville, Texas
Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas, United States. The population was 35,508 at the 2010 census. It is the center of the Huntsville micropolitan area....
. In the 1960s and 1970s, Rev. Pickett served as pastor for three churches in Texas. In 1980 he began serving as a chaplain in the Huntsville, Texas, prison, where he spent most of the next 15 years working with prisoners facing imminent execution. Since retiring from the Texas Department of Corrections, Rev. Picket writes and speaks against the death penalty
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
. His 2002 book, Within These Walls: Memoirs of a Death House Chaplain, won several awards. The 2008 documentary At the Death House Door: No Man Should Die Alone
At the Death House Door
At the Death House Door is a 2008 documentary film about Carroll Pickett, who served as the death house chaplain to the infamous "Walls" prison unit in Huntsville, Texas. It was produced and directed by the team of Steve James and Peter Gilbert...
chronicles his prison ministry.
Early life and ministry
Rev. Pickett attended Pattie Welder High School in Victoria and graduated from Victoria College, then Austin CollegeAustin College
Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated by covenant relationship with the Presbyterian Church and located in Sherman, Texas, about 60 miles North of Dallas....
in 1954 and seminary in 1957. He married Sonja Campbell of Victoria and raised 4 children. After divorcing, he married his second wife Jane in 1990.
Early in his career, he served a Presbyterian church in Sinton
Sinton, Texas
Sinton is a city in San Patricio County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,676 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of San Patricio County...
. From 1961 to 1967, he served as Associate Pastor for First Presbyterian Church in Victoria. From 1967 to 1980, he served as pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Texas.
Attitudes towards the death penalty
In 1974, the Carrasco Prison Siege of 1974 took the lives of two of Rev. Pickett's parishioners. After this, he was in favor of the death penalty. This was in direct conflict with the Presbyterian Church's established opposition to the death penalty.During his tenure as a prison chaplain in the 1980s and 1990s, his views changed. In 1989 he sought psychiatric help to deal with work-related issues. He came to believe that one prisoner, Carlos De Luna, was wrongly executed. He could not reveal his changed attitudes without jeopardizing his job and he felt a calling to continue to minister to prisoners on the last day of their lives. On the day of his retirement in 1995, he announced that he was against the death penalty. In 2008, he called execution "Biblically wrong."
In a September 2008 interview, he mentions that his attitude change was a long process, and was in part due to the execution of several men who he now believes were innocent.
In all, Rev. Pickett "walked with 95 inmates the last 10 steps to the Death House Door" in his 15 years with the prison system.
Campaign against the death penalty
In addition to writing a book and being the subject of a documentary about his time as the Death House chaplain, Rev. Pickett speaks and writes against the death penalty.Recognition
- 2002, Within These Walls: Memoirs of a Death House Chaplain, Violet Crown Award
- 2005, Within These Walls: Memoirs of a Death House Chaplain, PEN Southwest Book Awards, finalist, non-fiction
Publications
- Stowers, Carlton, and Carroll Pickett, Within These Walls: Memoirs of a Death House Chaplain, ISBN 978-0312287177, St. Martin's PressSt. Martin's PressSt. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in the Flatiron Building in New York City. Currently, St. Martin's Press is one of the United States' largest publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under eight imprints, which include St. Martin's Press , St...
, 2002, Google Books
See also
- Wiktionary
' sWiktionaryWiktionary is a multilingual, web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in 158 languages...
entry for death house. - Wrongful executionWrongful executionWrongful execution is a miscarriage of justice occurring when an innocent person is put to death by capital punishment, the "death penalty." Cases of wrongful execution are cited as an argument by the opponents of capital punishment....
External links
- Tewes, David, "A Mission From God," The Victoria Advocate, 1996-03-03, "Lifestyle" section p. 1, 8 Part 1 and Part 2
- Interview with Rev. Carroll Pickett, author of 'Within These Walls: Memoirs of a Death House Chaplain'
- First Presbyterian Church, Victoria, Texas
- First Presbyterian Church, Huntsville, Texas